Emptiness
by Ryuusei
Summary: Just a little Quifer
1. Alone

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII doesn't belong to me, belongs to those Squaresoft people. Song belongs to Puff Daddy 'n' Faith Hill.  
  
Note: M' first fic. Eheh. Eee..sorry if some o' this is wrong…haven't finished FF8..yet. Gomen! X.x;;  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
'Emptiness. That's all I'm feeling. Just like a big, black hole pierced into my heart. But why? What has left me like this? Who has left me like this? The fight with Ultimecia…that was a few months ago…I've been feeling like this ever since.'  
  
Instructor Trepe silently closed her laptop and wandered to her dorm window. Yes, instructor. She was reappointed right after the battle. Her battle…her mind, her life just left with it. Her deep blue switched to a single buttercup out in the fields around where Garden had landed. So beautiful…the full, golden color that radiated life…that gold…it seemed ethereal, somewhat similar but in a bolder tone. Almasy. Seifer Almasy, the troublemaker of Balamb. The young woman chuckled as memories of her past hit her in the back of the head. She had always have had to chase him away from Squall, suppressing her smiles at his face filled with a mock-hurt.  
  
Quistis shook her head and traced her steps to the small radio she had by her bed. She looked at the digital clock it had attached to it. 7 a.m. She reached out with slender fingers and flicked it on.  
  
Every step I take, every move I make  
Every single day, every time I pray  
I'll be missing you  
Thinkin' of the day, when you went away  
What a life to take, what a bond to break  
I'll be missing you  
  
Seifer…  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Quistis made her way down to the cafeteria, her honey blond hair fixed up in the usual tortoiseshell clip.   
  
"YAAAHHH!! I'm LATE! DAMNIT! I need hotdogs!" The spiky-haired blonde man burst past Quistis and a few groups of people, heading for the same place as the instructor.  
  
~Seifer would have his head…if…he was…still…here..~ Quistis shook her head, forcing that…man…out of her head.  
  
"QUISTY! Over here!" Blue eyes shot towards where the voice had called from. A short, lively brunette ran up to the young woman. Selphie grabbed Quistis' arm with surprisingly strong arms and dragged her towards a table occupied by a cowboy, a stern looking man, a bubbly female and a rather disappointed-looking blonde.  
  
~Zell didn't get his hotdogs..Eheh.~ She smiled, her full lips curling at the corners gracefully. The others smiled back…even Squall. Rinoa's had an excellent influence on him, opening him more than anyone else ever could.  
  
Irvine leaned forward to push a still steaming cup of coffee towards Quistis. She silently nodded a thanks to Irvine and let the coffee cool. Squall slipped an arm around Rinoa's waist as she leant into him. He placed a gentle kiss in her hair before wrapping his other arm around her. The raven-haired girl peered up at Quistis.  
  
"Hey Quisty, you taking the SeeD field exam again?"  
  
"Yeah. It's my job, isn't it?"  
  
"Think I'll do well?"  
  
"Yeah, you're can be an obedient person, right?" Quistis grinned and raised an eyebrow playfully at the SeeD hopeful.  
  
"'Course, Quisty!" She put on her most innocent face and smiled. Zell stood and quietly excused himself from the table, saying he was heading down to the training center. Quistis left soon after, saying she had lessons to tend to. As soon as the young instructor was out of earshot, Irvine leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the table and grunted. Squall looked up at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
Irvine tipped his hat back. "Quistis' been acting kinda funny ever since the whole Ultimecia thing."  
  
Rinoa shrugged "Probably just a bit unused to not having to always break Squall and Seifer apart." She chuckled slightly.  
  
Selphie giggled, as Irving chuckled, while Squall pulled his arms from Rinoa's slim waist and crossed them, turning his head to look at the floor.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Quistis returned to her room, tired from pushing Trepies away and tired from teaching. She gently closed and locked the door behind her. Her slender fingers reached up to pull her hair from the grasp of the clip. It fell to a few inches below her shoulders, not completely straight, but with a very slight wave in it, that made it shine with such radiance. She slipped out of her famous sandy outfit and pulled her PJs over her head. She retreated to the bathroom to brush her teeth.  
  
Back in her room, Quistis climbed into bed. She checked the clock. 10 p.m. A a small grunt, she flicked the radio on switched the lamp off. Another lonely night. Teardrops fell from those ocean blue eyes of hers and gently touched the pillow, melting into it.  
  
Every step I take, every move I make  
Every single day, every time I pray  
I'll be missing you  
Thinkin of the day, when you went away  
What a life to take, what a bond to break  
I'll be missing you  
  
Almasy…  
  
  
Eckp. How was that, eh? Please r/r and tell me how I can improve. Pwease? o.o;   
Kinda short, I know, but hey, I might continue with it s'more if I get enough support. *Hint hint. Support.* Anyhoo…yeah, that's it. For now. n.n;  



	2. Dream

Okey then...thank ya'll for the support! n_n! *Hands out cookies*  
  
Anyhoo...sorry 'bout the typos, I didn't bother looking over it before posting it. And the fact that there's no formatting. I'll try getting it saved as a .HTML file next time! Now then, on with the fic.  
  
And the disclaimer: I don't own FF8 and such, belongs to Squaresoft people. Yeah.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A flash of gray...  
  
A spray of gold...  
  
And a sharp sound of metal against metal...  
  
  
What? What was this? Fire. Red. Crosses. Hyperion...Seifer. There, as she remembered him. Perfect. The sturdy, well muscled body cloaked with a grey trenchcoat; that hair, slicked back with just a small bit flopping forward; those eyes. Emerald. Jade. Perfect green. Fading, from her eyes, from her memory....from her life.  
  
Quistis woke with a start, her hands outstretched, fingers curled, and her breathing fast and ragged. She lowered her arms slowly and just sat there for a good ten minutes, thinking over her...dream?...over. She was chasing him, her legs moving in a lur, yet still he managed to slip away. The young instructor sighed, pulling herself out of bed and trudging to her wardrobe. It was an off-day. Not particularly interesting, but hey, no papers to grade. Quistis reached in and pulled out a peach tank top and a pair of black trousers and threw them carelessly onto her yet-to-be-made bed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Quistis coiled Save the Queen around her waist as she walked to the entrance of the Garden. Might as well catch up on some training while she can.  
  
Quistis shook her head slightly as she found herself standing on the path that led to Balamb. She had lost herself in thought, about her, her life, her future...her past.  
~Damn, Trepe. Focus, you can't just stare into space while fighting.~  
  
She wondered from the path, looking for some sort of a challenge. SHe had Shiva junctioned, just in case anything goes wrong. ~What the...~ Up ahead, a young, yet strong, T-Rexaur had found quarry. A rather difficult-to-eat one. She could see red on grey, lashing out at the large reptile once in while, making feeble attempts to injure the large animal before collapsing. ~Shit!~ Quistis ran. Fast.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Damn....how'd I get myself into this..." He pulled his gunblade upwards at the attacking jaws of the T-Rexaur. He didn't have any magic, no GFs junctioned and not enough energy to run from this agile beast. It closed the space between them again, jaws wide open...  
  
Snap!  
  
The creature pulled back, head flung upwards in a cry of pain.  
  
Crack!  
  
The mighty beast turned swiftly, facing the new attacker. Casting Aura upon herself, Quistis searched snapped her whip again before casting LV? Death on it. Drawing quick breaths, she watched as the creature was struck and killed instantly. She then made her way to the bloody lump on the ground a few metres away from her.  
  
"Oh Hyne..." Pulling a hand up to her forehead before thrusting it down, Quistis threw Curaga over the fallen man. Cradling his head in her arms, she whispered to him "Damn you Almasy, you really should push down that ego of yours, before it kills you."  
  
A smile made its place on her features as she recieved a reply of "Eh? The hell...man..." A gloved hand wrapped itself around the muscular waist of the blond man, while the other pushed him up, pain etched in his features. Quistis pulled him back down, so his head was gently resting in her lap. She peered down at him.  
  
"Better get you back to Garden, you've lost a lot of blood. I can't carry you, and nobody else is around. You have Float?"   
  
At his nod, Quistis drew the spell from him then cast it. She gently carried him back to garden  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Eh...not finished yet. They're not a couple, fingers just got tired n.n;; Yeah, I'll continue it, but meanwhile, please R&R! Thank'ee! n.n 


	3. Rain

Disclaimer: Don't own FF8, blah-dee-dah

Disclaimer: Don't own FF8, blah-dee-dah.

Mrr, finally updating the fic again. *Squee!* n.n

Ooh yeah, and sorry 'bout the whole tense-changey-thing, I just can't get the hang of that --;

~*~*~*~*~*

The doors to the infirmary slid open as a young blond woman stepped in regally. As she approached the doctor, slender fingers slid back to smooth back the side of the silken honey hair. Her blue eyes peered over the rim of the slim-framed glasses as the instructor cleared her throat.

"Doctor Kadowaki? How's the patient doing?"

The doctor wrinkled her nose as she turned her gaze up to Quistis.She drew in a deep breath before speaking. "Well…"

"Doctor? How is he?" Worry creased the delicate features of Quistis; face as she heard hesitation in the older woman

"I don't know, Quistis, I don't know." The doctor finally spoke up. These words just caused the young instructor confusion.

"Excuse me? Please explain."

Kadowaki crossed her arms over her chest. She rocked back and forth slightly in her chair, thinking about how to word her explanation. She took another deep breath. "He left, Quistis, I don't know where to. When I came to check on him this morning, he wasn't there. Seifer's gone." She looked up to face a closing door and an empty room.

~*~*~*~*~*

"YO! SQUALL!!" The floppy-haired man turned around to face a puffing…blob.

"Zell?" A gloved hand reached forward to steady the still puffing blond.

"You….seen Quistis…around?" He managed to breathe out before gasping for air once again. 

"She's usually in the cafeteria by now…" Squall offered the suggestion with a wave of a hand towards the Garden dining area.

"Nah…just been…there.." Zell planted his hands on his hips and shook his head slightly. "The Hell could she be?!"

"What do you want her for anyway?" 

The blonde man flicked his bare hands at Squall. "She took my gloves for some lesson, that's all." He shrugged and ran off again. Squall made a mental note to put together another DC. It seemed like the Garden needed one. The commander carried on down the hall, he was going to do some last minute preparations with some of the SeeD candidates that were going to take their field exam the next day. Oh what a life it is in Balamb Garden. He carried on, past the parking lot and into the training center where a few pupils were waiting for him. Squall pulled out Lionheart and herded the group in through the right gate for a warm up session with a T-Rexaur or two. Too bad Rinoa wasn't there with him….

Squall's angel had already gone outside of garden to train. In fact, Garden had managed to get them over to Trabia, just for them to train in a cold climate. She was in a small fight with a lively young Mesmerize who's horn :just would not: break off. Damn it. Rinoa called Angelo forward and directed him to approach the beast carefully. As soon as it had completely turned it's attention to Angelo, Rinoa leapt forward and took aim.

_Fwhizm! Crack!_

_ _

Rinoa jumped back and threw her arms into the air. "HAH! In your _face_, Mesmerize dude! Your horn isn't unbreakable!" She gracefully sidestepped to her right, dodging a headbutt. ~Damn, I'm starting to sound like Selphie..woah!~ Rinoa moved further to her right, narrowly missing another headbutt and slashed down with her wrist, the projectile fastened to her arm ripped through the beast's shoulder. The raven-haired girl danced backwards and took aim again. She let Shooting Star pull away from it's place and spin towards the creature. It cut cleanly through it's throat and pulled back around in a circle, where Rinoa caught it perfectly once it had gone round.

~*~*~*~*~*__

Quistis just _ran. _The clouds had gathered and raindrops tumbled to the ground, creating puddles all over the path that Quistis took. She shielded her eyes from the onslaught of rain with an arm and fended off any stray monsters that came near the path with a crack of her whip. Her foot faltered as she slammed it onto a small rock. She fell. _Hard_. The young instructor pulled herself up into a sitting position, her leg had been twisted at an odd angle underneath her. She gently gripped her right leg. ~_Shit! _What have you done to yourself now? _Damnit Quistis, you can't just sit here in the rain_…But it hurts so much…_Get up! _…I can't…_Come on!_ …Seifer, where are you?~

The instructor sat there, wrinkling her nose into a snarl everytime a strong breeze picked up. She couldn't walk, couldn't crawl, just sit there, in the rain. Left with the monsters, alone.

~*~*~*~*~*

Eee…sorry I haven't uploaded for so long, had an awful lot of work to do. Anyhoo, I /should/ be updating a little more now, because of exams. [Weird, eh? People usually have less time during exams. I don't revise 'til the day n.~] R/R please! Ari-ga-TOU! n_n 


	4. Blood

With a very special Ari-ga-TOU

With a very special Ari-ga-TOU! to Rute for this chapter. She was the one who came up with the whole idea. ^___^ Go leave something in the review thing for 'er.

And… sorry I haven't updated for so long. No excuse, just kinda forgot about it for a long while. O.o;;

~*~*~*~*~*

He felt it. Something was wrong. But he didn't try so hard to get out of the infirmary to just go back to Garden again. But… he had to. Then again, Balamb was just metres away, where he would take the earliest train to Deiling. And when had it started to rain? Better hurry it up to the station, don't want a long train journey with soaked clothes. Seifer started off at a steady jog.

But…

He found that he had turned around, and was heading back towards the Garden. And he was sprinting, a hand gripped on Hyperion. The wind was pushing against him, yet beckoning him to carry on. No matter how Seifer pushed reasons through his mind, he couldn't turn back. Not now.

He didn't just head back towards Garden just because he felt like it. Seifer went, because he needed to.

~*~*~*~*~*

Throwing her hands out in front of her, Quistis cast a Blizzaga on a Bite Bug. Damn those things. So many of them. And in this weather, a fire spell would be eliminated before it takes effect. But at this rate, she was running out of magic pretty quickly. Save the Queen was lying coiled at her side. It took to long to aim at the darned things. In her situation at that moment, anyway. Or they'd just hover just out of her reach and dive down for an assault too quickly for her to react.

A swift attack against the back of her head brought a veil of darkness across her eyes, as the young instructor fell under the wing of unconsciousness. As the same bug flitted back down to the still form, it seemingly stopped, hovering for a moment before convulsing wildly, then growing limp. It was flung to the side, off the dark blade that had impaled its abdomen. Hyperion was roughly thrown to the wielder's waist. Seifer bent down, gingerly wrapped Quistis in his trench coat, and scooped up the Instructor quickly, almost roughly, before letting his feet take him towards the mobile building that was Garden.

Ignoring the element of water thrown at him from the heavens; the young blond ran for the grand structure. He flinched frequently, the deeper cuts having been torn open from movement. The forceful wind clung to and bit at his arms, his ears, and his back, yet Seifer carried on. The front gate. Finally, he got to the front gate. After running up and down flights of stairs, he arrived by the inner gate. Emerald eyes flicked to the left. The old man was sleeping at his post. Leaning down, Seifer lowered his arms to the floor. They were glowing a slight red, from that damned rain that had caused Instructor Trepe to slip, and be set on by those bugs. Leaving Quists propped up against the post that held the small flap for a gate, Seifer quickly rapped on the glass off the gateway post, before slipping off, unseen, into the oncoming night.

~*~*~*~*~*

"Uh…huh? Ooh! What's that?" A wrinkled hand flew up to adjust the cap that rested on a head, only just trimmed with white. Blinking a few times, the bent old man peered down from his post, to see a gray coloured figure. After waddling out of his small box, he walked over to discover the identity of this person. After peering hard, for a short while, blue eyes flew open, before hands were thrown into the air, and bent legs plodded into Garden.

"Doctor! Doctor?! Someone get the doctor!"

A newly turned SeeD spun around to the frantic old man. After taking a few seconds to register what he was asking, and to realise that he wasn't joking around, she sprinted down the hall, towards the infirmary.

Quistis fluttered her eyes open, to just about make out the stout figure of Doctor Kadowaki. Raising an arm to shield her eyes from the onslaught of light, the instructor shuffled to lean on her arm. Then, she felt it. Her leg. The young woman's nose wrinkled slightly, her lips curling into a scowl. Kadowaki calmly gazed down at Quistis. Her soothing voice met gently with Quistis' ears.

"Broken leg. Just lie back down for now."

Quistis did as she was told. With her arm now resting on her forehead, the instructor managed to murmur "How'd I get… here? I don't understand. Did Squall or Irvine come after me?"

The doctor stood up with a clipboard, scribbled a short note before looking down at the young instructor. "No… but speaking of Squall, he should be on his way here now. He'll explain to you. Just relax until he arrives."

Quistis let out a small sigh, before closing her eyes and resting her mind. After what seemed like hours, the door slid open, and a leather clad man stepped in. Stepping towards Quistis' bed, he sat on a small wooden placed there by Kadowaki, before checking to see whether the instructor was alright or not, then set to explaining the event.

"We found you by the entrance about an hour ago, and Kadowaki has only managed to bandage your leg for the while. We also found Almasy's coat with you." Quistis noted the furrowing of Squall's eyebrows and the slight twitch of his lip. He really didn't like that guy. "We expect that he was the one who brought you back, also the one who hurt yo-"

"Why would he have brought me back if he hurt me?" Questioned Quistis. "Anyway, I know he didn't. I… slipped in a puddle and fell. I don't know who or what knocked me out. Best bet is the cold or the bite bugs. I couldn't see or hear Seifer anywhere near me all the time I was sitting there."

Squall just blinked. He gave a small cough before continuing. "He's obviously hurt, a sample of blood that had dropped onto Garden grounds have been quickly analysed, and it doesn't match yours. There has been no report of Almasy entering Balamb, and he is definitely not in Garden. The weather conditions have worsened over the last hour, and we are in possession of his outer wear." The commander let out a sigh. "We should bring him back. Since you say he actually in a way helped you. We should return the favour." Quistis noted the hesitation, but smiled inwardly as she mentally congratulated Squall for letting the past go.

~*~*~*~*~*

Eeee. I've been not writing this chapter for longtime now. But! With a helpful reminder from Rute, I actually remembered to. Ari-ga-TOU again!


	5. What?

I know, I know, procrastination is my job. Now then. After a very long delay, I present to you, the next chapter.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The rain had grown intensely worse, but softened soon. A harsh wind blew up from the beach, chilling everything it touched to the core. Not even the arms of the rising sun could warm Seifer as he kneeled and shuddered, too cold and fatigues to travel another hundred metres, into Balamb.  
  
~Heh, at least the pain has gone. Now all I have to worry about is freezing to death. Thank Hyne for this Encounter-None junction. Heheh.~ Blonde bangs dripped in front of sea-green eyes, as they began to lose focus. His head began to spin. Or was the world spinning around him? What the hell?  
  
Memories flashed in front of his eyes, yet he never saw them, just felt the nauseating touch of his old friends. He only ever had two, and they left him, they betrayed him. Why hadn't anyone seen what he can do, his talents, abilities and intelligence? No one ever paid any attention to him. They should all feel what he had gone through, and learn to understand what it was like for him. But that won't work. There's no way he can do that. What now…  
  
"Se…er…Seifer? Wake up! C'mon! Let's get your sorry arse back to Garden."  
  
"Ugh.."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I'm sorry. I'm losing my FF8ness. I might just pass this fic on to someone else to finish, or just leave it there. I d'no. Maybe one day, I'll pick it up again. ._. 


	6. Hangover

Dr. Kadowaki paced the room quietly, writing her report on Seifer's condition. She lifted her head every so often, to see if he would wake. He didn't. It would be best not to force his eyes open, so all the doctor would do is to wait. A small groan caught her attention, and she turned hazel eyes to her patient.  
  
"What did I drink..?" A hand flew up to meet his forehead, in an attempt to comfort the throbbing.  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Kadowaki approached the communication tab and rested her fingers on a button. "Squall? He's awake now if you want to speak to him…"  
  
"Thank you, doctor. I'll be right down," Came the calm, somewhat crackled voice of the Commander.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In his office, Squall stared out of the window. Aquamarine oculars fell upon the gently curves and colors of the Garden. It's ring was raised, the golden frame glinting in the late morning sun. He let out a short breath as he felt gently arms embracing him from behind, and the chin of his beloved resting on his shoulder.  
  
"Not looking forward to it?"  
  
"The bastard…"  
  
"Hey, I dated him! For a while, anyway."  
  
Squall turned to face the raven-haired girl, leaning in closer. "Maybe you just have bad taste in men," it was almost a question, spoken in a low voice, before the young commander leaned in to plant a kiss on Rinoa's lips.  
  
//--//  
  
Well, that certainly was late. O_o; Yeah, this chapter is short. Hey, I'm trying to get into the habit of writing things on paper, before typing them up, so I can make minor improvements. Yah. ^_^; 


	7. Mom :D

The doors slid open with a hiss, followed by the sound of heavy boots entering the infirmary. The doctor greeted Squall and showed him to the small room where Seifer lay. Stepping up beside the older man, the commander of Balamb Garden glared down through azure oculars, piercing deep into emerald eyes. They both scowled at each other for a moment, before Kadowaki cleared her throat to remind Squall of his purpose in the room.  
  
"." Squall tossed a glance toward the Garden's doctor, who eyed him sternly. Placing a hand on his hip, the young leader put on the most polite voice he could give to his lifelong rival. "I should thank you for helping Quistis, but she would've been perfectly safe if you weren't stupid enough to go hunting creatures five times your size. And then running out when you were still bleeding. Into the rain as well! You-!"  
  
"Squall." The motherly tone of Kadowaki.  
  
Planting a hand on his hip, Squall let out a sigh, while Seifer tried to stifle a chuckle.  
  
"Fine. fine. Whatever. Thank. You. If it weren't for you, Quistis would be dead. Now, when you are properly healed, you may leave this place and hope we never meet again. Got it?" This was spoken slowly, through clenched teeth.  
  
A trademark smirk crossed Seifer's lips then. "Aww, you care that much about me? I'm touched. Sure, mom, love you, bye."  
  
With his hands balled into fists, Squall let out another sigh and just walked out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"SO! How'd it go?" Rinoa gave her love a small kiss when he walked up. Zell was busy stuffing himself, while Irvine was flirting with a few female students at the closest table.  
  
"You don't want to know," came the reply. "Anyway. Where's Selphie and Quistis?"  
  
"Quistis is marking papers, and Selphie's gone to organise that Autumn Dance you let her hold this year, remember?"  
  
"Oh. Right. Rin?" Hooking an arm around her lithe waist, he pulled her closer. "You will go with me, won't you?"  
  
Rinoa let her forehead rest gently against Squall's cheek and nodded lightly.  
  
//--//  
  
Well. Very late. O_o; Don't expect the next post to come soon. Though it might. Doubt it. Maybe. Ya know? ^^; Perhaps I should start a little mailing list, just so people know when they can expect a new chapter. O__o; 


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